Aquaculture--the farming and cultivation of aquatic species--has experienced significant growth globally and in the U.S. Northeast to meet market demands for seafood. How the public feels about aquaculture development matters, as there are challenges related to public willingness to consume aquaculture products as well as acceptance of aquaculture…

In the face of accelerating biodiversity loss, there is a need for widespread public support for conservation efforts. To increase the understanding of biodiversity issues, researchers suggest beginning with the acquisition of species knowledge. However, to optimally support the successful acquisition of species knowledge, influencing factors must…

Experiential learning is widely used at the post-secondary level, but it requires intentional curricular planning, and proper facilitation from the instructor. The effects of experiential learning in agricultural education settings at the higher education level have not been tested extensively. Therefore, additional examination is needed to inform…

Biodiversity loss is one of the biggest environmental issues in the world today and the biodiversity literacy of citizens can be key to counteracting this. Considering that children can be change agents and actively take part in decision-making from early years, we have assessed the native fauna identification skills of Primary School students…

Evolution is the integrative framework of the life sciences. Even though the topic is often not formally introduced before high school, young children already have various ideas about evolutionary principles (variation, inheritance, and selection) and their underlying key concepts (e.g., differential fitness, reproduction, and speciation).…

It is crucial that future generations have the knowledge about nature and the willingness to make right decisions for sustainable development, including the halt of global biodiversity loss. Perception of species and the ability to identify wild species (i.e. animals, plants and fungi) are fundamental for the understanding of biodiversity.…

Evolution is foundational to understanding biology, yet learners at all stages have incomplete and incorrect ideas that persist beyond graduation. Contextual features of prompts (e.g., taxon of organism, acquisition vs. loss of traits, etc.) have been shown to influence both the learning process and the ideas students express in explanations of…

Students are required to develop essential 21st-century skills, such as critical thinking and biological literacy, to effectively navigate challenges in the globalization era. It is known that the results of PISA 2022 and several studies show that these skills in students are still very low. However, traditional learning models often fail to…

Background: Experiential learning is commonly used in postsecondary settings, especially in undergraduate, agricultural, and laboratory courses. However, a lack of attention has been paid by educators to critical components of experiential learning. Purpose: The effects of reflection mode (peer-verbal or written journal reflection) and transfer…

This study compared four horseless and seven traditional horse participants from Washington County 4-H in Utah for horse knowledge gained and for the development of 10 life skills from Hendricks's Targeting Life Skills Model: leadership, teamwork, self-responsibility, personal safety, problem-solving, decision-making, critical thinking, goal…

Here's a fresh way to help your students learn life science by determining how you can help them learn best. "Uncovering Student Ideas in Life Science, Volume 2," offers 30 new formative assessment probes--engaging questions that can reveal what students already know (or think they know) about a core science topic. Armed with that…

Invasive alien species (IAS) are one of the main drivers of global biodiversity loss. The present study aims at performing a diagnostic analysis of the perceptions of Primary and Secondary school students about causes, consequences and solutions of the presence of IAS in the environment. The influence of educational level, knowledge of the meaning…

The goal of the research was to find out the effect of using living animal in teaching on remembering and understanding acquired knowledge in students with special educational needs (SEN). In our experiment, students with SEN (n=24) were compared with students without SEN (n=56). The design of the research was experimental. The research tool…

Animal fears are common, emerging in early childhood and often continuing into adulthood. This study explores the outcomes of positive and negative storybooks about animals on children's attitudes and behaviors. Ninety-six children (ages 4-8 years) were exposed to either negative or positive information about two animals (snakes and frogs) via…

Posthumanist orientations have underlined the need to foster non-hierarchical relations with other-than-human beings to adequately attend to planetary crises and help life to survive and flourish. Since a posthumanist critique towards natural sciences has mostly leaned on questioning the premise of human subjects making sense of objectified…